This invention relates to a shapewear undergarment, more particularly to an upper body shapewear undergarment with arm compression that gently lifts and compresses the flabby areas on the top half of the body, especially the arms, midriff and back. Garments improving the shape of a woman, often referred to as shapewear, help boost a woman's confidence by flattering her figure. For the most part, women's shapewear undergarments available today primarily address women's problem areas from the waist down. Few shapewear garments address trouble areas on the top half. Those that do typically focus on a select area, namely the midriff and/or the back. The invention of this application, however, provides a comfortable solution for improving the appearance of the arms, midriff and back.
Originally, shapewear undergarments were designed to slim a woman's midriff or buttocks and thighs. These products would provide a smoothing solution, however, when the wearer moved, the product tended to roll up making it (1) unable to solve the problem and (2) uncomfortable to wear. Further, a garment designed for the top half of a woman's body usually has chest coverage that compresses, rather than supports, the breasts. This is an area that most women prefer not to minimize. Finally, the cut and trim of many of these traditional garments force the fat to be displaced. This can result in additional bulges, around the bra line or waist, for example, creating unsightly rolls of fat, rather than providing a smooth, streamlined appearance. Therefore, there is a need for a product to comfortably contour a woman's torso. First, to help slim a woman's middle section, both front and back; second, to slim a woman's arms, particularly her upper arms as well as her back fat.
Few shapewear undergarments include sleeves for arm compression. Those that do, have missed executionally and operationally. The sleeves have been made of a hosiery material and rip when the wearer tries it on. Further, the seam on these garments has not been reinforced and creates holes when the wearer puts it on. While the intention is for the garment to smooth out the fat, the fat remains in its natural state in the area where the seam has ripped resulting in a lumpy appearance. The product has not successfully met the need. Further, these garments typically lack coverage in the midriff and back areas, an area of complaint for many women.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,442 discloses a shoulder and arm support garment that covers the upper body of a human. One of the objectives of this design is to prevent and treat shoulder joint or muscle disorders rather than being addressed to a compression tool to shape the wearer's body. U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,926 references a compression support sleeve designed to prevent migration of the garment on the skin of the wearer during exercise. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,224 discloses a body support garment that creates an hourglass torso shape at the waist but does not address the need for arm control as well. U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,253 too addresses abdominal support via three elastic webs but does not address the back and arms through cosmetic reshaping. None of these patents show the complete control of the torso and arms that is needed to properly shape a women's body.
Accordingly, a need exists for a comfortable shapewear undergarment that gently compresses the torso, namely the arms, back and midriff, to help minimize or eliminate the appearance of fat bulges.